Ustream’s Broadcast For Friends App Adds Support For Facebook Open Graph And Posting To Fan Pages

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Just about a month ago, we wrote about Ustream‘s new Broadcast for Friends app, which for the first time let users broadcast live directly within Facebook, so that their friends could watch those videos in their Timelines or News Feeds. The idea was to simplify the experience, so that users no longer have to go through the whole process of creating a Ustream account, finding the correct link and then sharing it with friends. Well, so far so good.

But there were a few things missing. Apparently Ustream started getting desperate calls from brands and agencies and celebrities. “Please, Ustream, let us post videos to our fan pages, where they could reach an even greater audience of users!” those brands and agencies and celebrities demanded. And so, not wanting to let its loyal users down, Ustream has updated the app to do just that.

The latest update to the Broadcast for Friends app — which Ustreamers lovingly refer to as BFF — will allow users to broadcast to any business or fan page that they are an admin of. They need only activate the capability in the app’s settings page.

The Pages thing is not for everyone — most of us aren’t celebs or brands or agencies, after all! But here’s a new feature that is for everyone: The new BFF app* has deeper Facebook Open Graph integration, which means that every video you broadcast will show up all over the place in Facebook. In the Ticker, in News Feeds — it’s a virtual cornucopia of Ustream broadcasts wherever on Facebook you might be looking for them.**

The app also now supports lower bit-rate connections, which would have been great when Ustream was testing the app out in our office last month, because we get very poor cell reception in TechCrunch HQ. Apparently you can now stream with as little as 200 kbps bandwidth available, which must be a joy to watch on the other end of the connection. But you know, it’ll also be great in crowded areas or in places where there might be protests and you just want to stream that stuff to your Facebook Timeline. And Fan Page. And News Feed. And Ticker.

So the NEW Ustream BFF! More brands and celebs! Distributing to more places on Facebook! With lower bandwidth! Download here!

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* It’s catching!
** Or, if you’re me and don’t really go to Facebook that much, all the places you’re not looking for stuff.